In a first, Maharashtra now has online registry for organ donations

State medical education minister Girish Mahajan launched the registry, saying it will improve the organ donations

The state’s department of medical education and the Tata Trust launched an online registry for organ donations – the first of its kind – on Thursday. With the government priming medical colleges to become centres for organ transplants, Dr Vasantrao Pawar Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre at Nashik will be the first to host an organ transplant.

State medical education minister Girish Mahajan launched the registry, saying it will improve the organ donations. “There is a large gap between demand and supply when it comes to organ transplants. While some individuals and families are open to the idea donating organs, they refrain from doing so because of the current system, which is taxing, time consuming and tedious,” said Mahajan.

The online registry includes a checklist of organs one wishes to donate, and allows family members of registered donors to withdraw. The registry will act as supplementary database of organs available for donation. Until now, the Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee (ZTCC), a registered, non-governmental organisation, was the focal point for cadaver organ donations, retrieval and transportation of organs, and transplants in the state.

Health department officials, who are preparing for a statewide organ donation drive from August 30 to September 1, also said the infrastructure of medical colleges will be upgraded to boost the organ transplant programme.

A new building at the government-run medical Dr Vasantrao Pawar Medical College in Nashik will be ready in two weeks, by which time doctors will be appointed to perform transplant surgeries. “We will most probably begin conducting surgeries at the hospital by the end of this year,” said a senior health department official.